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Amidst all the controversies, Jodhaa Akbar has seen the box office moolah pile up. Just when the controversies were showing signs of ebbing away and Jodhaa eclipsed by more Rac(e)y fare at the box office, Rushdie comes pumping up his fictional oeuvre on none other than Akbar.

I can see some one reading up a passage out of context and coming up with yet another fatwa on the man. The Outlook has already posted a somewhat misleading excerpt which goes like this

Did Jodhaa really exist? Yes, says Rushdie—in Akbar’s imagination. She was the ultimate male fantasy, not the woman “of big breasts and a small brain” that boys dream of, but an emperor’s erotic fantasy dreamt up by a bored Akbar, stealing traits from his many queens in the harem: sensuous, mistress of the kamasutra, especially the art of unguiculation (”using the nails to enhance the act of love.

Now for the fanatics amongst us especially the lazy ones, this is enough to rake up another ruckus. To be fair to Outlook, they did credit the original source which was an original short story which appeared on the New Yorker. But its a case of riding a thin line between seeding misconception and informing the public of the whole case- open ended for the diggers and a close and shut fatwa case for the lazees.

Even if someone does dig deep enough, theres enough in the piece for the borderline fanatics as well.

Read this for instance

Even the Emperor succumbed to fantasy. Queens floated within his palaces like ghosts, Rajput and Turkish sultanas playing catch-me-if-you-can. One of these royal personages did not really exist. She was an imaginary wife, dreamed up by Akbar in the way that lonely children dream up imaginary friends, and in spite of the presence of many living, if floating, consorts, the Emperor was of the opinion that it was the real queens who were the phantoms and the nonexistent beloved who was real. He gave her a name, Jodha, and no man dared gainsay him.

But I sincerely hope, everyone reading it wont overlook the the small title for the post which sayz “FICTION” (in red).

Read the orignal short story here..

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